Every year, the woods light up with buck sign as we get closer to the rut. Saplings are torn to shreds with fresh rubs, and scrapes seem to appear overnight. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of finding them, but not all sign is worth your time. Understanding the difference between “show” sign and “go” sign is what separates a slow sit from a punched tag.
If you’ve ever stumbled across a fresh scrape on a logging road or field edge, odds are it was made under the cover of darkness. Setting up directly over a scrape might seem logical, but it usually leads to frustration and hunts without productive deer encounters. This sign is easy to find, and if you’ve spent any amount of time watching the big names hunting managed farms, you’ve likely seen plenty of bucks arrowed over them. However, for most of us hunting public land or small parcels of permission-based private land, hunting where sign is easiest to find rarely produces results. The best buck sign typically is made closer to bedding areas.
You’ll experience far more daylight activity when you locate rubs and scrapes tucked tight to cover near known bedding areas. These are the locations where mature bucks stage before dark. Place trail cameras in these zones to monitor activity and pattern when the sign is being made. Over a few days, you’ll start to see trends in timing and direction of travel that can help you plan the perfect ambush.
Signpost rubs and community scrapes are gold when you find them near bedding cover. Signpost rubs are made on the same large trees year after year, while community scrapes serve as social hubs where multiple bucks communicate using preorbital glands. When you find one of these, you’ve located a central hub of deer activity that will often produce through the pre-rut and into the early stages of November.
Late October through early November is my favorite time to hunt signpost rubs and community scrapes. Buck movement is ramping up, but deer are still on somewhat predictable patterns. Setting up downwind of a well-used scrape line during this window offers a great shot at a mature buck cruising in daylight. Once the rut kicks into full swing, that predictability fades fast, so strike while the sign is hot. My most strategic hunts of the season are based around cold fronts in late October and early November. Even if my trail cameras haven’t shown much activity, I’ll hedge my bets that a good cold snap will get a nearby buck on his feet in daylight hours. If that happens, odds are a signpost rub or community scrape will be one of the first places he visits.
Hopefully you’ve already identified a few signpost rubs or community scrapes through pre-season scouting. However, if you’re not so lucky, don’t be afraid to speed scout during the season. I’ve learned that being aggressive and hunting fresh, high-quality sign near bedding cover consistently yields better results than camping out on cold sign at field edges. If you’re not seeing deer, move. Every hunt should teach you something about how deer are using your property. The most successful bowhunters aren’t the ones who wait on the fringes – they’re the ones willing to adjust, adapt, and capitalize on fresh sign in real time.
